Another guy, Another girl
by Joy1
Summary: Amazing what happens when a little miscommunication and a bit of jealousy get thrown into Max and Logan's relationship.


Title: Another guy, another girl

Name: Joy 

Email: SleepingBeauty2@ziplip.com

Rating: PG

Logan sat stiffly in his wheelchair staring out at the rain pounding the pavement below. His anxiety level had risen a great deal in the last couple days. Max had been coming over more often since they had returned from Cape Haven. However, in those days she had made mention of a new guy at work about four times. This was the topic Logan was pondering by the window. 

**/ What did you think? A bright, intelligent, gorgeous woman like her wouldn't eventually be attracted to someone…other than me… someone who could walk. / **

So engrossed in his own thoughts, he was unaware of the vision of loveliness that had come to visit him. "Hey Logan," she said, drenched from top to bottom. If he hadn't been so depressed, he probably would have noticed the wet t-shirt at the very least. "Can I snag some clothes?" 

"Sure," he said, never looking up from his window. 

"What's up? You don't normally get this depressed without it having to do with your legs or Max, so spill."

"Leila, I don't want to talk about it," he said to the Asian beauty in his bedroom. 

"Oh, must be Max and your legs," she yelled from his bedroom as she changed.

"Fine, fine… you're right."

Leila was one of Logan's best informants, having been to military school and graduated top of her class at the Quantico. Plus she was a hottie, able to get in and out of situations with ease. Logan had met her when she was a teenager. She dropped the dime on a sex slave ring run through the prestigious military academy she attended. She was at best a kid sister type, although she was older than Max. To Logan, she would always be the fifteen-year-old smart-ass that kicked him to the wall when he tried to 'save' her. 

"I didn't even get a hug… Not even a hello," she said sitting in his lap by the window. 

"Sorry. Hello," he said kissing her cheek and hugging her around the middle.

************************************

Max came blowing into Crash very upset. "What's up, Boo? You look like somebody needs to get a beat down," Original Cindy said sitting down next to her.

"Alcohol is what I need! Bartender- Whiskey."

"Damn, Sugar. What 's up? You never up for that kind of poison."

"I am tonight!" Max snapped.

"What's got you so tense? Original Cindy knows you haven't been getting it a lot lately, but you're not the type to freak like this."

"I'm… I'm pissed and … I shouldn't be!"

"Why?" asked Cindy.

"I went over to Logan's, and I walked in to see him with this girl on his lap by the window. I mean, yesterday he said I didn't need to come over if I didn't want to… I guess I know why."

"Whatever you saw… well, he is a man," she thought better of her statement. She was about to defend Logan bet then thought about his gender deficiency. 

Max looked bummed, "She was beautiful and Asian and wearing his clothes. It looked like she just got out of the shower. I don't even want to know what they were doing that made her need a shower."

"OK, despite what I just said, Logan is crazy about you. I don't think he is a normal guy… It's probably not what it seems," Original Cindy said to calm Max. 

Max just stared at her friend and hoped she was right. **/What did I expect? He is handsome, rich, intelligent and funny. Did I really think he would never date? /**

*********************************

Leila spent the night in Logan's guest bedroom while Logan moped about in his apartment. Max perched on his skylight watching to see what was going on with the girl. Logan was muttering to himself by his computer. Max could make out that he was upset. He was saying something about maybe Leila being right, and maybe they need some good one on one time together. Max was crushed. He was going to go on vacation or something with this chick she knew nothing about. 

Max headed to work and ran into Connor, the new guy. He had been shadowing her the last few days. He was Normal's nephew and eighteen. He was a good-looking guy, but she still saw him as a kid. Their age difference was much smaller than the one between her and Logan; but, despite all her protests, Logan was her interest. Max and Connor delivered their packages around town joking and laughing. Connor realized Max wasn't her normal jovial self, so he did his best to cheer her up. By lunchtime he decided to press the issue. 

"What's up, Max? You're laughing at my jokes, but you don't seem at all happy."

"Rough night," she responded. Just then her pager went off; it was Logan. "Mind if we detour. I need to answer a page and we're near where the caller lives."

"Oh, does this mean I get to meet the legendary Logan?" Connor said raising an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't call him legendary, but if you want to meet him I don't see why not," she replied. 

"Alright, let's hit it."

**************************************

"What ya doing?" Leila asked after Logan put down the phone.

"I paged Max. I'm hoping to talk to her about taking a road trip. I just can't think of a good reason."

"How about you like her?" she responded. "So I get to meet her. Cool!"

"Don't be so eager please. I don't want you to pounce on her... Besides she'll probably call, not come by." 

"I'll get my stuff together. Where's my new assignment?"

"The paper work is in my bedroom," Logan said pointing to the door. 

"Thanks, I think I can manage."

Leila walked into Logan's bedroom as the lock was being picked. "Do you always pick his lock?" Connor asked.

"Yes," Max said.

She rolled her bike in and yelled, "Logan! You paged, sire?"

Logan rolled into the living room with a big smile on his face and was about to ask her to run away with him for the weekend when he noticed the tall blond guy- not Zack, but good looking none the less - standing outside his door. The guy had obviously come with Max. Just then Leila came bounding out of the bedroom and slid on Logan's hard wood floor. She fell into Logan's lap causing Max to cringe. 

Leila was the first to speak, "Sorry about that. You would think I would have learned not to run in socks on hard wood floors."

Logan cleared his throat, "Ah, Max, this is Leila. Leila, this is Max."

**/Damn. Why couldn't she be ugly? /**

"Pleased to meet ya," Leila responded.

"Like wise."

"So… Who's your friend?" Logan asked

**/I bet he'd be taller then me even if I were able to stand. /**

"Oh," Max had totally forgotten Connor was standing behind her. "Connor this is Logan and Leila." She did her best not to make the name sound like it was to sweet or full of venom. Leila had just become Max's least favorite name in the world. Logan added Connor to the list of names not to name his sons; Eric was on that list as well. 

After an uncomfortable minute of everyone staring at each other, Max said, "You paged me. Was there something you needed?"

"Yeah, how bout we go into the computer room?"

Logan and Max made their way out of the room as Leila came closer to Connor. "Do you think either of them has a clue that the other is jealous?" Leila ventured.

"Not a clue," Connor said shaking his head. "So how often does he mention her?"

"Constantly… And her?"

"Same… You wish it were different?" Connor asked.

"Not really, but sometimes. How bout you?" Leila responded.

"She will never see me as anything but her boss's nephew. There is no hope, so why do it? Besides she was going to set me up with a cute girl that has our same shifts."

"Nice."

"Yeah... What do you think they are talking about in there?" 

"He was going to ask her to go on a road trip with him," Leila commented. "He may be too freaked now. I mean you're young, good looking, and able to walk. Something tells me he'll chicken out."

"That's funny… She said something about thinking he was going to ask her to take care of some stuff while he was gone on a road trip."

"So she got wind of it somehow. Ok, here's the plan: if they come back out and he hasn't asked her, we'll run interference until he does. Got it?" Leila said. 

"Fine by me. Everyone at work would be happy if Max calmed down a bit. I might actually get some other friends at work if we pull this off," Connor commented.

Max came from behind the computer room wall partition frustrated. "Come on, Connor. Lets go back to my real job, where I get paid."

"Did you ask her?" Leila whispered to Logan who shook his head. "Do it!" she commanded. 

"How can I? She's happy," he insisted, pointing at Connor. 

Leila signaled Connor to stall. "Can I get some water or something? I'm really thirsty."

"We can get water downstairs," Max snapped. 

"No, come on Max. Julia won't go for me if I pass out on a run," Connor added to alert Logan to the fact things weren't necessarily as they seemed.

"Fine!" she huffed.

"So Logan, you got any plants you need me to water while you and Max are gone this weekend?" Leila said taking the hint from Connor. 

"What are you doing?" Logan pulled at Leila's t-shirt. 

"Making sure you don't make a big mistake and let her leave thinking we are something we aren't."

"What?" he said with curiosity.

Max looked so confused, "I thought you two were going away this weekend." The thought had never even occurred to Max that he could have been muttering about her the night before. 

"Nope. I'm just here for a few days. Holding down the front while the 'sire' is gone," Leila responded. 

"Hey, Max. Why don't I go cover for you at work? Don't want my uncle to fire my favorite matchmaker," Connor said as he headed out the door. 

"Fine. I'll meet you at the coffee shop in a half an hour," she said over her shoulder. 

"I'll let you two talk about your trip," Leila said slipping into the guest bedroom. 

Logan and Max just stared at one another for a few minutes, trying to figure out what had happened.

"So that was Connor? Great guy. Normal's nephew, huh?" Logan said finally.

"Yeah. Great kid. He's eighteen. I'm setting him up with a girl at work."

"Julia?"

"Yeah… So Leila is?" Max asked looking down.

"She's an informant. I've known her since she was a teenager. Kid sister type."

"Kid sister that borrows your clothes?" 

"Yeah. An assignment went screwy, so she was staying here until the heat died down. She came over in the middle of the rainstorm the other night. All her stuff was really wet. My clothes became the replacement," Logan said calmly.

"Ah."

"So, I was thinking- why don't we take that vacation I promised you? No work, I promise. Leila can hold down that fort."

Max raised her eyes in disbelief, "Yeah, I'd like that."

Connor and Leila were both listening at the doors they were standing by. "Yes," each whispered. Connor headed back to work proud of his accomplishment, and Leila sat on her bed reviewing the contents of her new assignment. She was happy to know her friend was finally going to let himself be happy. 

************************

"Hey, Cindy! Guess who is finally going to relax?" Connor said.

"Who? Your uncle?"

"Nope, Max! She is going on a road trip with the legendary Logan."

"Damn Boo… You did good. Now figure out how to remove the stick from your uncle's butt and ya got a friend for life."


End file.
